The 31st. annual YONEX ALBERTA SERIES continues with the seventh of eight tournaments being held 22-23-24 February at ClearOne Badminton Centre, Calgary. Each tournament will feature an OPEN category, leading to waterfall in B, C, D, should the entry size warrant such.

FORMAT – Series waterfall format will be used. Everyone will start in A, with first round losers dropping to ‘C’ category. Second round losers in ‘A’ will drop to ‘B’ category. First round losers in ‘C’ category will drop to ‘D’ category. Everyone is guaranteed three matches per event.

ENTRY FEES – 1 event - $57.50 per player; 2 or 3 events - $72.50 per player. All fees include feather shuttles & 5% GST. Badminton Alberta has been issued a Goods and Services Tax business number (12647 3495). On-line payment must be made at the time of registration. Badminton Alberta is set-up to receive payment through PayPal. Entries received without payment will be deleted. It is the responsibility of each player to ensure payment has been received by the registration deadline.

ENTRY DEADLINE – entries are due no later than 4:00 pm MST (midnight GMT) at least ten (10) days prior to the start date of the tournament. Timed draws will be post on www.badmintonalberta.ca by 1:00 PM on the Wednesday prior to the tournament. Late entries will not be accepted by the On-line registration system or through the office.

ELIGIBILITY - All participants must be affiliated individually as a Competitive Member with Badminton Alberta or be a member in good standing with another provincial badminton association. Badminton Alberta membership will be verified at the time of On-line registration and available if required.

EVENTS - Players may enter a maximum of three events, one singles, one doubles and one mixed doubles.

AWARDS – A maximum of $38,000 in prize money will be paid (including $10,000 prize purse for Alberta Series Finals), with each tournament featuring a maximum of $3,500.00 in prize money payable to the winners, finalists and semi-finalists of the ‘A’ events.

The prize money will initially be split evenly among the five disciplines, with a sliding scale being implemented to encourage a strong entry. Out of province players are welcome and encouraged to enter the first seven events. All participants in the ‘A’ division, regardless of province are eligible for prize payout.

A separate prize pool of $10,000 will be distributed at the Alberta Series Finals, which only Alberta athletes are eligible to contest. Athletes/pairs must play in a minimum of three tournaments to be eligible for selection to the Series Finals.

YONEX POINTS – Winners and finalists in the ‘B’ and ‘C’ other sponsor merchandise credits will be awarded to the winner and finalist in each of the B & C divisions of each tournament. Credit holders can purchase sponsor merchandise once they have enough credits. Players will be able to purchase what they want, when they want or save up for something substantial like a new racquet. Athletes may not earn product points and prize money in the same event. When the size of draws provide this opportunity, athletes will receive prize money and the corresponding product points will be unclaimed.

SHUTTLES – YONEX feather shuttles supplied for all matches. Quantity of shuttles may be limited if abnormal use is experienced.

SERIES RANKINGS – Continued for 2012-13, Yonex Series ranking point standings will be calculated and post following event tournament. These rankings will be maintained separately for singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The final Yonex Alberta Series Rankings will be based on an athlete’s best five of eight results from the YONEX Alberta Series tournaments, including the Alberta Closed Championships.

REFEREE & DRAW MASTER– Jeff Bell (403) 297-2722. Draw times available at 1:00 PM the Wednesday prior to the tournament

TOURNAMENT RULES – Three-minute on-court warm-up. Ten-minute default rule will be in effect. BWF rally point scoring format will be utilized. Active coaching will not be permitted. Coaching will only be allowed during the two minute break between the second and third game. The sixty-second break will be respected between all first and second games, without coaching support. Further explanation available here.